An encyclopedia.

The word itself sounded oddly intriguing, so I rolled it around in my mouth a few times.

Harwin hyung ran his hand over the thick encyclopedia before handing it to me.

“Can you read?”

“A little. May I take a look?”

“Of course.”

With an excited heart, I flipped open the parchment cover. Inside, the crisp white pages were filled with densely written text.

It was the first time I’d ever touched paper of such fine quality.

As I flipped through the pages, something caught my eye.

<The Ember>

The smallest fragment and fundamental unit of a shard from the Sun. It radiates light and warmth, forming the foundation of human civilization, especially in pioneer villages. Typically lasts about a year, though its longevity can vary depending on ambient temperature, wind, and management methods. The precise lifespan can be determined by observing the brightness and dimness of its core.

“Hmm. Hmm.”

Even someone unfamiliar with embers could understand them just by reading this.

Well, not that there’s anyone who doesn’t know what an ember is.

Still, the idea of representing everything in the world through words like this—

I’d never thought about it before. It was fascinating.

I flipped through a few more pages and then burst out laughing, clutching my stomach.

“Fish? Hahaha! Semna , come here and look at this!”

But Semna paid me no attention, busy haggling over a necklace in the distance.

How embarrassing.

Instead, Harwin hyung smiled and asked,

“What about fish?”

“It’s weird! Fish? Is it meat that tastes like water? Or water that tastes like meat?”

“Fish are animals that live in water.”

“Ugh… But wouldn’t their fur get soaked?”

“Fish don’t have fur. They have scales instead.”

Scales? Like an ice dragon?

If that’s the case, fish must be terrifying creatures.

While I was lost in these thoughts, Harwin hyung casually mentioned that he wanted to add Greendal Village to the encyclopedia’s section on pioneer villages and started asking all sorts of questions about our town.

Distracted, I gave half-hearted answers until something dawned on me.

“Hyung, you want to travel across the snowy plains and document everything in this encyclopedia, right?”

“Exactly.”

“You want to fit the whole world into this one book?”

“Ha… Truly, you never fail to amaze me. For someone born and raised in a pioneer village, your perspective is extraordinary.”

Harwin hyung nodded with a gentle smile.

But why would anyone bother with such a tedious task?

“The world is right there in front of us. Why try to cram it all into a book?”

Harwin hyung shifted the topic abruptly.

“Solaire , do you know about sky whales?”

“No, what’s that?”

“A whale that soars through the sky. A magnificent creature, larger than this entire village.”

I couldn’t even begin to imagine such an animal existing.

“Sky whales were real. The records prove it. But they went extinct after the Sun’s division. They couldn’t adapt to this cold and dark world. Along with sky whales, many things have vanished—empires, bananas, the Potlatch Festival, and the indigenous people of the polar regions. So much has already disappeared, and more will continue to vanish. I want to preserve even just a trace of them.”

A record of the vanishing.

It was a beautiful pursuit.

But I couldn’t fully grasp its meaning.

As much as I wanted to cheer on Harwin hyung’s dream, a part of me also wanted to challenge it.

It wasn’t out of spite—just my insatiable curiosity acting up again.

“Do you ever change what you’ve written in the encyclopedia?”

“Rarely, but yes. If I’ve made a mistake due to ignorance or misunderstanding, it must be corrected.”

“Then if I were to find something that’s supposed to be gone—say, a sky whale—you’d have to rewrite that part, wouldn’t you?”

“Of course. I’d need to revise the entry stating they’re extinct. Haha, I’d love for that to happen.”

Harwin hyung laughed warmly.

“If something thought to be gone still exists, there’s no better news. Even if my hands end up drenched in ink, I’d rewrite it as many times as necessary.”

I glanced between him and the encyclopedia he was working on.

Someone living with a purpose beyond just surviving—

I’d never encountered anyone like that in our village.

If I left the village, would I meet more people like him?

People who saw the world through lenses so different from my own?

The thought made my heart race.

But there was another reason my heart quickened.

“Ah, Solaire. I promised you a gift if you could guess my identity, didn’t I?”

“I didn’t figure out that you’re writing an encyclopedia, though.”

“Haha, I never expected you to. In fact, I thought you wouldn’t answer at all. But you came up with something I hadn’t even anticipated: a desire, a purpose. That’s deeper than any encyclopedia or natural history. So, I owe you a gift.”

He rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a long, tube-like object.

“This is called a telescope. You look through it like this.”

Refusing a gift wasn’t an option.

I took the telescope eagerly and peered through it.

Suddenly, Semna’s face, as she haggled over a bracelet in the distance, appeared startlingly close.

I thanked Harwin hyung and stepped outside the hall.

Exiting the corridor that stretched through the building, I opened the door, and the cold wind struck my face.

I exhaled into the frosty air and raised the telescope to my eyes again, this time gazing beyond the village’s fence.

The snowy expanse beyond was still veiled in darkness.

But it wasn’t just darkness. I knew that.

After all, the Saile Merchant Group and the natural historian Harwin hyung had emerged from that darkness.

The unknown world was merely hidden in shadow for now.

And so, I wanted to go beyond it.

With the telescope pressed against my eye, seeing nothing but pitch-black darkness, I made my wish.

For a brief moment, it felt like I glimpsed a faint starlight.

***

In a pioneer village lacking so many essentials, a merchant group bringing daily necessities was always a welcome sight.

“It’s only proper to treat our guests with the utmost hospitality.”

The village chief  generously ordered the slaughter of sheep and reindeer.

The meat was excellent, but when paired with fresh organ dishes and marrow-slathered turnip bread, it became a feast like no other.

“Come, eat your fill. You too, scholar with the glasses! This lamb stew is one of Grendal’s finest delicacies.”

“Thank you, but I don’t have much of an appetite…”

For some reason, Harwin hyung quickly set his utensils down.

Still, the other merchants devoured the food with such gusto that it was satisfying just to watch.

Once their stomachs were full, some of them began singing. It might have been fine if they were decent at it, but their singing was… well, not.

Seeing the less-than-pleased expressions on our faces, the leader of the Syle Merchant Group  quickly caught on and barked at his people.

“You fools! Singing now? You think this is your living room?”

“N-no, sir!”

“If you’ve finished eating, get up. Don’t make a nuisance of yourselves. We’re leaving again tomorrow, remember?”

Although reluctant, the merchants obeyed, smacking their lips as they stood up.

Once they all went off to rest, the villagers didn’t linger long either, and the gathering quickly dispersed.

The village chief cleared the table and called me into his room.

What could he want to talk about?

“So… you want to go beyond the snowfields?”

Ah, I should have guessed. Semna must have scurried over and tattled on me.

That troublemaker. There she was, glued to the chief’s side, chattering away.

“Dad, I saw it with my own eyes! Solaire was talking to the merchants earlier. He’s obviously preparing to leave. You can’t just let this slide!”

“I see.”

“Don’t just say ‘I see’! You should break his legs or something to stop him!”

“I said I understand. I’ll talk to him. Now go outside.”

Reluctantly, Semna stomped away, but not without glaring daggers at me before she left. She’s insufferable.

“Sit down,” the chief ordered in his deep, commanding voice.

He was a man of few expressions, so it was impossible to tell what he was really thinking.

Still, it felt like I was about to get scolded.

Scratching the back of my head, I sat down awkwardly.

Technically, I had no reason to get in trouble for wanting to leave the village.

If I wanted to go, I could go. If I wanted to stay, I could stay.

But the chief had raised me after my parents passed away when I was young.

Leaving the village he had worked so hard to build felt like a betrayal.

And though I couldn’t change my heart just because I felt guilty…

I hadn’t fully made up my mind yet.

Just as I was about to speak, the chief  hit me with a strange question.

“Are you planning to get married?”

“Huh? To whom?”

“To whom else? Semna, of course.”

Me? Marry Semna?

Sure, she’s the only one my age around here, but still… Semna?

She feels more like family than anything else.

As I rolled my eyes, trying to figure out how to respond, the chief spoke to me gently.

“Solaire . Sol. My boy.”

“Yes, I’m listening.”

“When you were eight, you went beyond the snowfields with Semna, didn’t you?”

“… I’m sorry.”

“There’s no need to apologize. I know it was Semna who dragged you along. I’m not blaming you. I just want you to remember—bringing her back on your back that day was nothing short of a miracle.”

So this was leading to another “don’t leave” lecture.

I bit my lip, bracing myself.

The chief reached out with his thick hand and tousled my hair.

“No, I’m not trying to stop you. I just want to ask—Sol, how do you think you managed to carry Semna back from the snowfields at such a young age?”

“Probably luck and a bit of a miracle, as you said.”

“No. It wasn’t luck or a miracle. It’s because you’re Solaire. That’s why you could do it.”

The chief began counting on his fingers, listing things off.

“Good eyes. Insatiable curiosity. Occasionally scatterbrained. Asks too many questions. Learns quickly. A rascal. A dreamer with useless imaginings. Thinks too far ahead. Reckless. Brave. Strong. An oddball who’s hard to trust, but… still trustworthy.”

I could tell he was talking about me.

It was hard to tell if it was praise or scolding—there seemed to be plenty of both.

“Uh, thank you?”

“It’s not just what I think. That’s what everyone around you has said. And I agree. Sol, you’re a special kid.”

I’d expected a reprimand, but the praise left me feeling awkward instead.

When I didn’t respond, silence stretched between us. Eventually, the chief stood up and opened the window a crack. The cold air rushed in, biting my ears.

“Cold?”

“Yes.”

“Well, surviving in this cursed cold world isn’t easy. And running a pioneer village is even harder. If an idiot becomes chief, the village will crumble in no time.”

The chief lowered himself to his knees to meet my gaze.

“But here’s the thing. I believe I could entrust this village to you.”

“If you’re talking about the chief’s role, wouldn’t Monbin hyung be a better choice…”

The chief shook his head.

“Do you remember the time a wolf got past the fence? Monbin ran to wake me while you stood and fought it.”

I absentmindedly fiddled with the tear in my pants from that wolf’s bite. I’d been lucky that time.

“Sure, luck was on your side. But it wasn’t luck that made you face the wolf—it was your own resolve. Monbin doesn’t have that resolve, and someone without it has no place leading a frontier village.”

Still on his knees, the chief looked straight at me.

“Marry Semna. Raise a family with her and lead this village. Carry the lives of hundreds on your shoulders. It’s hard, but it’s fulfilling. In this frozen world, there’s no calling more meaningful than that.”

This was a man who had never bowed his head to the Syle merchant leader or even the occasional wandering knight.

To have him speak to me like this, with such earnestness, made my heart feel unbearably heavy.

Even worse was the weight of Semna’s gaze as she peeked through the slightly ajar door.

Two paths began to take shape in my mind:

The life of staying in the village:

A future where I’d become chief, surrounded by familiar people, living a peaceful and comfortable life. It might grow monotonous, but there’d be a certain beauty in continuing the village’s legacy with others.

The life of leaving the village:

A wanderer’s life, braving the cold and darkness of the snowfields alone. Perhaps I wouldn’t last a day beyond the village and would freeze to death. What meaning could there be in such a death?

A wise person would undoubtedly choose the first path.

But… despite that, I wanted to take the road less traveled.

I wanted to see what lay beyond the snowfields.

“What could you possibly hope to find out there?” the chief demanded.

“I don’t know. That’s why I want to go and see for myself.”

The chief pointed out the window.

“Look. Beyond the snowfields, there’s nothing but ice and snow.”

“No. There’s a faint moon and stars, a few scattered people, and paths to be taken—even if they’re cold and treacherous.”

“Solaire!”

“Even if there’s only snow and ice, I want to choose that path for myself. I don’t want to live my life regretting the road I never took.”

The chief sighed heavily, over and over.

Somewhere behind him, I heard the door quietly close.

Silence filled the room. Neither of us moved.

The cold wind from the open window stung my nose and ears, but I endured it, letting the sensation fade until my face was numb.

Even if I froze to death here, I wouldn’t bend.

In the end, it was the chief who yielded.